Chapter 1256: Masters of the World

Gao Yang and his companions entered the Gates of Closure through the large crack. The colorful lights flooding out of the Gates had made it seem like they would be met with an otherworldly scenery and impossible treasures, but no, there was nothing on the other side.

Giving them no time to think, the Gates behind them closed.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The “inside” and the “outside” of the Gates were identical. Soon, the Gates became abstracted before reverting to the sketch of countless flowing lines of light. Then the light started contracting—or collapsing. In a matter of seconds, it morphed back into the Miracle Rune Circuit, hovering in the air with a soft golden glow.

During the process, they recovered their human form, too.

Gao Yang reached toward the Rune Circuit. Sensing him, it quickly flew into his grasp and stopped glowing.

With their only source of light extinguished, their surroundings dimmed. The space they found themselves in had no visible boundary or horizon to divide the sky and the ground.

Although there was no obvious source of light, though, weak particles of light seemed to exist in the space. It was thus dim, but not pitch dark. It was a muted, dull grey, like a still frame plucked out of the moment before the night descended.

They stayed silent for a long moment.

It was a curious feeling, as if there was some agreed-upon rule preventing them from speaking.

“Hey, hello? Anyone here?” Zhang Wei was the only exception. “We can talk!”

The moment he broke the silence, the others realized,

Ah, that’s right. We can talk.

“I have a bad feeling about this. It’s a one-way street with no way back.” Liao Liao had a lot of questions, but the one thing that concerned her the most was the disappearance of the Gates.

“Not necessarily,” Dr. Jia said, unconcerned. “Gao Yang can try and open the Gates again with the Miracle Rune Circuit, but he’ll end up like Dragon.”

“What?!” Zhang Wei cut in. “We’re sacrificing two big shots just to take a peek into the Gates and return? That’s insane!”

“I’m just making a logical deduction,” Dr. Jia said bluntly. “I didn’t say we’re doing that.”

“Don’t even bring it up!” Wang Zikai growled. If anyone wanted Gao Yang dead, he would kill them first. He took a step forward and rolled up his sleeves, declaring confidently, “Don’t be cowards, fellas. Just do it! God or Buddha, I’ll kill them if one stands in our way!”

Vermilion Bird smiled wryly. Although Wang Zikai was acting like an idiot, there was no denying that his declaration was a morale boost.

Feeling conflicted, the others turned to Gao Yang out of habit. Their young leader had his back to them, cutting a lone figure in the empty space.

After a moment of silence, he started walking. “Let’s go.”

They walked in the dim world with no direction, destination, or goal. Their uncertainty and unease haunted their every step, and so did the feeling of aimlessness as they roamed the strange land.

How long had it been? There was no telling that. Time lost its meaning here.

They started talking because talking was all they could do.

“Something’s bugging me,” Liao Liao said. “Didn’t Qilin say that there were no Gates of Closure? Did Qilin lie to us?”

“Not necessarily,” Chen Ying said. “Perhaps Qilin really didn’t know.”

“That can’t be right.” Vermilion Bird pointed out the inconsistency. “Qilin once showed me, Gao Yang, and Azure Dragon the Gates of Closure in illusion form, and it was almost identical to the real deal. That can’t be a coincidence. I believe Qilin must have seen the Gates, and with the image burned into his subconscious, he fabricated the same thing.”

“Yeah.” Qing Ling agreed.

“So Qilin lied to us?” Liao Liao concluded.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Zhang Wei disagreed. “Qilin had no reason to lie to me. I could tell that he was being honest. At that moment, he was really...”

He paused. “Really lonely.”

“Agreed,” Gregor said. “From hindsight, Qilin could’ve just killed Zhang Wei. Then the Spinning Top Plan would’ve succeeded.”

“Yes.” Vermilion Bird nodded. “Qilin had no reason to lie to Zhang Wei. Killing him was the better option.”

Gregor continued, “But Qilin didn’t. The lonely man craved an audience or a witness. He told Zhang Wei everything he knew.”

“Stop running in circles,” Dr. Jia interjected impatiently. “There are two facts: first, Qilin saw the Gates. Second, Qilin believed there were no Gates. Isn’t the conclusion evident?”

“Huh?” Zhang Wei didn’t know what he was missing.

Dr. Jia sighed. “As expected of the low bar of intelligence.”

Wang Zikai was going to grumble about Dr. Jia and his crypticness, but when Zhang Wei got roasted, he hurriedly said, “You need to smarten up, Zhang Wei. Explain to him, Liao Liao.”

“Sure thing,” Liao Liao played along. “The conclusion is that Qilin saw the Gates, but forgot.”

“Yeah! That’s right!” Wang Zikai shouted.

Vermilion Bird considered it for a moment before adding to the speculation: “Qilin glimpsed into God through the Miracle Rune Circuit and saw the Gates of Closure in what he called the index, but for some reason, he forgot.”

“How could he forget something this significant?” Adept Horse questioned.

“Perhaps...” Hong Xiaoxiao had a guess, but she wasn’t sure if she should voice it.

“God made him forget,” White Dew said, reaching the same speculation.

Liao Liao hissed and grabbed Hong Xiaoxiao’s arm for emotional support.

“Maybe...that is the case.” Chen Ying’s eyes darkened. “Qilin glimpsed into God, and that couldn’t have escaped God’s notice. So, God made him forget the Gates of Closure.”

“But why?” Adept Horse pressed.

Vermilion Bird guessed boldly, “Perhaps God wanted things to get to this point?”

Liao Liao’s eyes glinted. “You mean that all is according to God’s plan, and this is Their game?”

“Really?” Gregor said with disappointment. “That would be way too lame.”

“Lame! Lame! Lame!” Parry repeated while flapping its wings.

“Shut up, stupid bird!” Dr. Jia hurried to catch up with them. “You’re too closed-minded. ‘Game’ is a human concept. God does not play games.”

Liao Liao sighed. “We’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks. After all, we’ll never know what Qilin saw and experienced back then.”

“Geez, isn’t it simple?” Wang Zikai didn’t understand why they were overcomplicating things. “Just find God and give Them a good beating so that They fess up.”

Silence arrived.

“Brother Kai is right!” Zhang Wei shook his fist and hollered like an unnecessary bookend to the conversation that had already wound down. “Open the Gates! Kill God! We’ll become the masters of the world!”